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  • Top Three Books of 2021

    During 2021, my reading rate has been nowhere near as impressive as it was in 2020. I’m not sure why that is. However, I’ve read a good mix of non-fiction, novels, and short stories, and have continued keeping track of everything through Goodreads, which means I can carry on my now yearly tradition of picking…

  • Book Review: Under Orders

    Under Orders by Dick Francis.My rating: 4 of 5 stars. Under orders is the first Dick Francis novel I have read. It’s also the first one he penned after his wife’s death left him bereft and without a research partner for his writing. Thankfully, his son Felix stepped into that role, beginning a fruitful collaboration…

  • Book Review: Witch Bottle

    Witch Bottle by Tom Fletcher.My rating: 4 of 5 stars. Witch Bottle is the story of Daniel, a man who is haunted by an event that took place in his childhood. He isn’t just haunted in a figurative sense, he is literally pursued by a shambling hooded figure that turns up regularly until Daniel places…

  • Book Review: High Fidelity

    High Fidelity by Nick Hornby. My rating: 5 of 5 stars. Nick Hornby’s debut novel, High Fidelity, is the story of Rob Fleming, the thirty-something owner of North London record shop Championship Vinyl, who is going through the breakup of a long-term relationship. We join him as he tries to work out where he has…

  • Book Review: Luke and Jon

    Luke and Jon by Robert Williams. My rating: 5 of 5 stars. Luke and Jon is a debut novel by Robert Williams, first published in 2010. Luke and his father, struggling after the death of Luke’s mother, move to a remote run-down cottage on the fell overlooking the northern town of Duerdale. They soon meet…

  • Book Review: Pine

    Pine by Francine Toon. My rating: 4 of 5 stars. Pine, Francine Toon’s debut novel, is the story of Niall and his daughter Lauren, who are both trying to come to terms with the disappearance of Lauren’s mother. The novel is set in winter, in a small village in the Highlands of Scotland. The cover…

  • Book Review: Starve Acre

    Starve Acre by Andrew Michael Hurley. My rating: 5 of 5 stars. Starve Acre is the story of Richard and Juliette who moved into Richard’s family home to bring up their young son, Ewan, only for him to die suddenly at the age of five. The novel begins after Ewan’s death, when Juliette is still…

  • Book Review: Devil’s Day

    Devil’s Day by Andrew Michael Hurley. My rating: 5 of 5 stars. Devil’s Day is another masterpiece of folk horror fiction from Andrew Michael Hurley. Boiling the plot down to a single sentence, it’s the story of a man and his wife who return to his family farm for a funeral, and help with preparations…